STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (4-0-1, 1-0-1 GNAC) and Norwich University (2-3-1, 1-0-1 GNAC) dueled to a scoreless tie in a rematch of the 2016 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Soccer Championship at the SJC Athletics Complex on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Both teams recorded a handful of scoring opportunities in a match that featured plenty of back and forth action with the Monks holding the upper hand in close chances. Perhaps the best scoring bid took place in the 105th minute, when Norwich keeper Brendan Germano (Monroe Township, N.J.) denied a Noah Robinson (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) chance but allowed the rebound to fall to the foot of freshman Noah Elmore (Berlin, Vt.), who faced an open net but rifled a shot high over the crossbar.

With the heat playing a factor and both teams seemingly gassed, the Cadets also registered several chances in the second overtime frame, but shots by Matt Bento (Brookfield, Conn.) and Carlos Guerra (Mission, Texas) were topped by SJC keeper Blake Mullen (Manchester, Conn.)

THE KEEPERS:

Mullen made seven saves in the shutout performance and now has a program-record 20 goose-egg efforts in 33 collegiate starts. The junior netminder surpasses current Assistant Coach Will Pike '11, who tallied 19 shutouts in two seasons with the Monks.

Germano also played well with three saves in the scoreless deadlock.

TEAM STATS:

Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (17-11) and corner kicks (2-1) while Norwich posted a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With today's result, Saint Joseph's is now 7-4-4 in the history of the series with Norwich University. Neither team has scored a goal against the other in the last 354 minutes of play as the conference counterparts have put up double zeroes in each of the last three meetings, including a 0-0 score in the 2016 GNAC Championship, which was the last contest played on SJC's Westerlea Way Field (11/5/16) and won by the Monks in PK's.

Norwich's Alec Brigante netted the last goal scored between these two teams in the 66th minute of a 3-1 Saint Joseph's triumph on October 24th, 2015 at Westerlea Way Field.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's hosts Bowdoin College at 7:00 PM on Tuesday while Norwich resumes GNAC play at Anna Maria College Wednesday in a 4:00 PM start.

#GOMONKS

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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.